Utah Jazz Find Redemption Against James Harden, Rockets

Gordon Hayward led the Utah Jazz to their fourth-straight win against James Harden and the Houston Rockets at Vivint Arena on Tuesday.

A lot can change in 10 days, especially in the NBA. Take the Utah Jazz, for example. 10 days ago, the Jazz dropped their third game in what would become a four-game losing streak to James Harden and the Houston Rockets. It was arguably the team’s most dismal defensive performance of the young season, as the Rockets pushed pace to the tune of 111 points.

Harden, in particular, went beast-mode on the Jazz front, dropping 31 points and dishing out 10 assists. Eric Gordon and Clint Capela added 20 points apiece. Anytime you’re allowing three opposing players to score 20-plus points on your grille, it’s tough times.

Just 10 days later, the Jazz band is back in a big way after finding redemption against that same Rockets team. Despite being on the wrong end of a back-to-back set, this time around it was Gordon Hayward and Utah putting up points, beating Houston 120-101 on Tuesday to capture their fourth straight win.

After scoring 38 fourth-quarter points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, the Jazz picked up where they left off against Harden and Co. Led by Rodney Hood, the Jazz scored another 38 in the first quarter on Tuesday. Hood scored 13 points in the quarter and the Jazz shot 85 percent from three-point range to get a big lead.

It was a lead they would never relinquish thanks to that hot shooting. On the night, the Jazz hit on 55 percent of their shot attempts overall and finished with 15 three-pointers. Despite playing level with the Jazz during the second and third quarters, it was simply too much for Houston to overcome in the end.

Especially given their own inefficiency; the Rockets shot just 40 percent overall in the game.

Speaking of Hood, the Jazz guard went on to finish with 19 points in just 20 minutes of play. However, he was forced to leave the game early with a hamstring injury. We’ll keep you updated on his status as information becomes available.

On the bright side, Hayward had one of his best games of the season, scoring a game-high 31 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 12-of-13 from the foul line. Given his finger injury and ensuing shooting struggles, it was an encouraging performance from the Jazz star. He also added seven assists and five rebounds.

Hayward was particularly strong during a decisive stretch in the fourth quarter. With the Jazz holding a 10-point lead, the team dropped the hammer, scoring on 10 straight possessions to push the lead over 20. It was Hayward who led the way, scoring 10 points over the course of the run.

Rudy Gobert was dominant in the game as well, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Defensively, he was a deterrent in the paint all night long, blocking three shots. Meanwhile, Joe Johnson and Trey Lyles combined for 24 points off the bench.

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Harden scored 26 to lead the Rockets, however he made only eight of his 23 field goal attempts. Gordon, however, was strong once again, scoring 24 points.

Looking ahead, the Jazz will go toe-to-toe with the Miami Heat on Thursday at the Viv.